Head of Enterprise Data Governance

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

To lead the enterprise Data Governance capability, accountable for defining and administering the Group Data Governance framework, including data retention, personal information governance in line with the Privacy Office requirements, and enterprise data domain governance. Ensures governance is implemented via Data Management across central and federated teams and facilitates independent oversight, challenge, and the integration of assurance efforts across the risk, audit, and compliance functions, while supporting the group to adopt and embed the framework.

Job Description

• Define, maintain and drive the embedment of the Group Data Governance (DG) framework (decision rights, ownership model, federated operating model, enterprise data policies and standards).
• Integrate the relevant policies and standards into the Absa policy universe and report on both central and federated compliance to all aspects of the framework.
• Define requirements for ownership, stewardship, custodianship and accountability across business areas and data domains, oversee implementation through the work of central and federated DG teams, implement the data issue management process and track governance maturity, adherence and progress.
• Define and implement the enterprise standards for data governance and data retention and align these standards with the regulatory requirements to manage personal information appropriately. Define legal hold, exceptions, and defensible disposal standards and practices for these standards.
• Define governance requirements for metadata, lineage, data quality, reference data, master data, as well as issue management. Monitor the implementation of the required controls via independent challenge and assurance, and report on agreed KPIs for the Data Management and Governance (DMG) function within the CDAIO.
• Act as the entry point for all internal and external risk, audit and regulatory compliance requests, providing compliance evidence on behalf of the CDAIO or the Group for aspects under central data governance management.
• Translate regulatory requirements into actionable data governance controls and ensure consistent implementation across the enterprise, with traceability and monitoring from policy through to control execution.
• Accountable for coordinating risks and audit investigations and ensuring control design and testing as part of remediation and providing audit-ready evidence to internal and external stakeholders in response to any findings or recommendations.
• Manage and report on enterprise-level data risk mitigation actions assigned to the CDAIO.
• Oversee the end-to-end data issue management lifecycle and drive the issue remediation process, facilitating the alignment between impacted stakeholders and escalation to the Group Data Council as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems/computer science/data, or Risk/Compliance/Law/Finance (required)
• Postgraduate degree (MBA/MSc Data/Risk/Governance) (preferred)
• Preferred Certifications
• DAMA CDMP (Data Management and Governance)
• General risk and data certifications

Experience

• 10 years in data governance, risk, compliance, and information management
• 5 years of large enterprise and banking experience
• Engagement with regulators, Group Risk, Internal Audit, and executive governance forums
• Deep understanding of privacy and data retention regulatory requirements in financial services
• Experienced at translating regulatory and risk requirements into operational controls and mitigation processes.

Technical Skills

• The ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate the ability to design, build and administer the following
• Enterprise data governance frameworks and underpinning operating model, roles and decision frameworks
• Data lifecycle management, critical data management and data retention frameworks and processes
• Good understanding of data management platforms (metadata, lineage, DQ, master data, reference data, workflow and evidence) and how these work together
• Risk and control frameworks covering policies, controls, monitoring, testing and evidence
• Governance metrics design and comprehensive executive reporting

Non-Technical Skills

• Executive stakeholder management and influence without authority
• Strategic thinking, structured problem solving and the ability to facilitate enterprise alignment
• Decision structuring, facilitation, and escalation governance
• Executive and operational level communication skills, including committee-ready synthesis and writing
• Change leadership in federated organisations preferred
• Strategic integrator across business, risk, and technology
• Highly structured thinker who simplifies complexity
• Able to effectively balance collaboration and assertiveness to safeguard the interests of the organization while promoting consistent adoption of recommendations to achieve the desired outcomes

Education

Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised